I started another thread expressing my frustrations, asking if dual-booting and maintaining multiple operating systems makes more sense than just doing everything in Windows. I have to maintain more operating systems and spend time booting between them or transferring files back and forth. Is it worth the hassle? I had some interesting replies in that thread, which has gotten me asking this question: "What are good reasons for using Linux instead of Windows?"

-Obviously holding a position that's 100% against proprietary software is one good reason. But I doubt anyone who is using Linux Mint holds that position. -Because Linux does everything you need it to do. Now that's a damn good reason! -Because you don't want to pay the "Windows Tax." I'm not so sure that is a great reason. Obviously Linux is supported by donations. Microsoft does cost a lot of money, but considering you get 10 years of support, the price per year isn't that high. But then again, not many people are going to use the same computer for 10 years, and they will need a newer version of Microsoft Office eventually to stay compatible.

Anyway, what are your good reasons for using Linux instead of Windows?

For me a lot of it came out of a need to have an OS when my HDD failed back in 2009. I jumped on Ubuntu to have a working computer on the cheap and from there I realized WHY I should run a Linux distro rather than Windows.

1. Spent so much of my time fixing Windows issues on various computers because I have a large family with many computers and other wireless devices. I felt like an IT guy in my own home and it got frustrating. NOw with only 1 Windows computer I have my time back and we have had zero virus, malware, spyware, trojan, etc. issues. We have 1 Linux desktop, 1 Chromebook, 3 Macbook Pros, 1 Windows laptop, plus a lot of iPods and iPhones, some Android phones, etc. My only IT issue now is a router I keep having to reset but will replace with an Apple Time Capsule when the bugs work out of the new ones.

2. Speed. My desktop responsiveness under Linux is far superior to that under Windows. I can literally hit enter to go to a website on two machines at the same time, one on Mint and one on Windows, and my Mint machine never loses. Sometimes it is not even a competition.

3. Never have I had a blue screen/black screen with an up and running Linux or Mac machine.

4. Never has printer spooling failed on a non-windows machine.

5. Ease of updates and install. I can install a fully updated distro in 30-45 min, depending on how many updates are required. THat includes all codecs, drivers, printer setup, office software installed, etc. FULLY installed. With Windows the OS would barely setup in that time, most times taking longer, and then I am stuck at a VGA screen without printer, codec, Adobe reader, Adobe flash, office software (that takes another forever to install), and so many other things.

6. Learning. Linux is so vastly different than a Windows environment that we truly learn a lot about our machines and how they work with our software and OS. We become better with computers after the learning curve.

7. It's NOT more difficult than Windows. Most people say it's difficult or challenging, but they don't put themselves in the shoes of a NEW Windows user. Imagine if you'd never used or managed Windows how difficult it would be to install it and manage all the needs you have as a user, such as what to do when you need some codec or where you get an office application (or buy it!).

8. Software center. Windows cannot compete in this realm. Nearly everything we need is available without doing anything. All the apps you may need are there, and the few that are not (such as Google Chrome, for example) you can usually download and install outside the repos if you are comfortable doing so. We literally have tens of thousands of free applications to use, delete, modify, tinker with, etc. No cost and immediate availability.

9. Security. By being the smallest user group we're also the safest. It's not that LInux distros cannot be vulnerable, but rather that the piece of the pie we occupy doesn't cover much of the computer user base so we're just not the prime target Windows users are. It could happen at any time where that changes, but so far has not. We can't be careless with security, but we don't have the breadth of attacks coming at us that Windows does.

10. Cost. It's free. We get a new OS so often, and without paying for it, that it's pretty amazing. We become donators instead of buyers.

I would say it will be for security and stability. I am pretty sure most people will pay happily for it if they will get the same benefits. A lot of people pay for the OS when new versions comes out to contribute in such a way.

TBABill wrote:1. Spent so much of my time fixing Windows issues on various computers because I have a large family with many computers and other wireless devices. I felt like an IT guy in my own home and it got frustrating. NOw with only 1 Windows computer I have my time back and we have had zero virus, malware, spyware, trojan, etc. issues. We have 1 Linux desktop, 1 Chromebook, 3 Macbook Pros, 1 Windows laptop, plus a lot of iPods and iPhones, some Android phones, etc. My only IT issue now is a router I keep having to reset but will replace with an Apple Time Capsule when the bugs work out of the new ones.

My personal experience has been different than yours in this area. Every time I load up a new Linux OS and set about to configure everything, I run in to all sorts of problems. Perhaps if I just kept things simple I wouldn't have such problems. I find that Windows just works now. Yes, Windows used to be problematic, but since XP SP3, Vista SP2 and 7 everything is good, lol.

2. Speed. My desktop responsiveness under Linux is far superior to that under Windows. I can literally hit enter to go to a website on two machines at the same time, one on Mint and one on Windows, and my Mint machine never loses. Sometimes it is not even a competition.

I agree with this. In Vista I see that little blue loop spinning a little too often.

3. Never have I had a blue screen/black screen with an up and running Linux or Mac machine.

Has your desktop ever frozen up solid? Have you had to tap Ctrl+Alt+Backspace to hopefully fix the problem? Have you ever had to hard power off? You've never booted to a root shell prompt instead of X, unexpectedly? I've had all these things happen to me many times since 2009.

4. Never has printer spooling failed on a non-windows machine.

5. Ease of updates and install. I can install a fully updated distro in 30-45 min, depending on how many updates are required. THat includes all codecs, drivers, printer setup, office software installed, etc. FULLY installed. With Windows the OS would barely setup in that time, most times taking longer, and then I am stuck at a VGA screen without printer, codec, Adobe reader, Adobe flash, office software (that takes another forever to install), and so many other things.

Windows Updates are slow. With so much of your personal information being gathered and sent to the NSA, it really does bog down the process.

6. Learning. Linux is so vastly different than a Windows environment that we truly learn a lot about our machines and how they work with our software and OS. We become better with computers after the learning curve.

7. It's NOT more difficult than Windows. Most people say it's difficult or challenging, but they don't put themselves in the shoes of a NEW Windows user. Imagine if you'd never used or managed Windows how difficult it would be to install it and manage all the needs you have as a user, such as what to do when you need some codec or where you get an office application (or buy it!).

8. Software center. Windows cannot compete in this realm. Nearly everything we need is available without doing anything. All the apps you may need are there, and the few that are not (such as Google Chrome, for example) you can usually download and install outside the repos if you are comfortable doing so. We literally have tens of thousands of free applications to use, delete, modify, tinker with, etc. No cost and immediate availability.

This is true. But the new user is shocked after a time when they realize that their applications are not updating to the latest version. Honestly, I never used to mind visiting Download.com to find applications. Of course now they try to sneak some garbage software into every download. Softpedia probably isn't so bad and there are other sites as well.

9. Security. By being the smallest user group we're also the safest. It's not that LInux distros cannot be vulnerable, but rather that the piece of the pie we occupy doesn't cover much of the computer user base so we're just not the prime target Windows users are. It could happen at any time where that changes, but so far has not. We can't be careless with security, but we don't have the breadth of attacks coming at us that Windows does.

My opinion on this is that, without more advanced firewalls and antivirus software, you'd never know on Linux if you were infected. I've luckily been able to get Comodo AV running on Mint 15. I don't really understand the email configuration part of it though. But it's nice to have an antivirus with real time protection that also searches for rootkits. But with UFW, I'd never know if I was under attack. I'd never get any pop ups saying that XYZ IP Address keeps trying to get in. I guess that stuff can be found in the logs, but the average person doesn't know when, where or how.

10. Cost. It's free. We get a new OS so often, and without paying for it, that it's pretty amazing. We become donators instead of buyers.

jesica wrote:I would say it will be for security and stability. I am pretty sure most people will pay happily for it if they will get the same benefits. A lot of people pay for the OS when new versions comes out to contribute in such a way.

Windows is quite stable now. It took them long enough but it is. As far as security, yes at least you know Steve Ballmer isn't snooping through your Documents folder. But my issue is that if your OS was infected by some malware, you'd never know about it. With Windows you have Antivirus software and Firewall software that keeps you alert. Now I suppose the average user isn't so bright as to have their security software on high alert. But for someone who utilizes that software properly, like myself, I get a greater feeling of security from crackers and malware than I do on Linux. That's my feeling. Just "knowing" that Linux is more secure doesn't do it for me.

Well, security, yes-- when I am surfing through the intarwebs and a popup shows, telling me that Windows has detected a virus, I know right away that it's BS (well, I know it's BS anyway, but...)

Also, security-wise, it keeps people from messing with my system-- they have no idea how to do anything with my computer when I have a LInux desktop or a command-line up. Mostly they saty away, because just watching me work tells them that I am using a non-Win, non-Apple interface.

It used to be about the price-- When I built machines, I wasn't going to pay $150 or more for an OS. As it is, I work from laptops now, and so the cost of the WIndows OS is pretty much transparent to me. Besides, there are times when I absolutely need to use Win to do something... the nature of the beast, if you will.

Customizability-- I like to have control over as many aspects of my computing experience as possible, so with Linux, I get to choose what desktop I want, and everything about how it operates.

Same goes with options-- if I need a different tool, chances are, there is a version or three of it available for my OS. If not, then I switch to a different OS.

Personally, I enjoy mucking around in the guts of my OS, so installing a new OS, whether it is Ubuntu, or Mint or something entirely different, gives me opportunity to learn more about the operating system, play with various different programming languages and styles, and exercise my brain.

The more time I spend using linux the less time i am spending on my windows machine, I just don''t need it in the same way I used to think I did. The learning process is fun and after a while it becomes second nature as windows appeared to be, the security in being with a less commercial OS, and the community support, is fantastic and one of its greatest strengths IMO. The choice is mind blowing and at the same time I wouldn't have it any other way - you couldn't play around with all the different versions of windows or mac os without having to spend a fortune, with linux you can try them at will, for free and for as long as you like until you find the one that suits you, that in itself is priceless . . . . the updates, system wide, makes more sense, as do so many more thingsabout the way linux works, and still . . . . . I keep coming back to mint, no matter how many times I try another distro booting off a USB stick, the only recent exceptionto grab my attention significantly has been Tails OS, and that . . . may be the start of my experiments in dual booting, and all it will cost is my time and attention and a bit of bandwidth

For me: Stability is major issue. After my laptop crashed with windows 7 and my backup disks did not work. I had no choice. Wine and playonlinux are able to play the games that I play. (I installed toontown online and Pirate101 on my computer)

My rant about windows:Windows slows down in about 6 months. Your time would be redoing it every 6 months. Updating it and all that junk. Security leaks.

I believe Linux is alot more stable than windows. Security is best in Linux.

My best recall from the last time (a long time ago) that I ran my Win7 VM from Mint:

A program juscheck.exe wants to run on your computer (OK)A Java update is available (do you want to download it?)A program wants to make changes to your computer.Java is preparing to install.........................................Ready to install Java (click install or cancel) ps Do you want to install the Ask toolbar (checkbox checked by default).do you accept the EULA?Java has installed, (click OK)

(reboot)WIndows is installing updates (6 of 43.......)Do not turn off your computer

The only good reason that anyone who is being honest can give is: I prefer Linux

Naturally I can find all kinds of reasons (or rationalization) to justify it to myself--you can find all these types of reasons scattered on many fan sites, either Linux, Windows or Apple OSx or maybe others..

I would also suggest that a 3rd entry a common shared storage space between windows, Apple or Linux is available and quite easy to manage--the simplest method is to stick a hard drive device onto your router; I only assume everyone connects to the internet and want to be sure to be secure, so they naturally pay for an ISP service.

and I always use wired connections, less broadcast of any signalling on the session--despite any advances in wireless security

I landed here not because I preferred Linux, but because I wanted an alternative to the increasingly draconian windows. I mean, how can you say you prefer something before you've tried it? Yet something made you download it and try it that first time!

Personally, I like the idea of an open-source alternative that helps prevent the proliferation of Microsoft's near-monopoly. I just think it's healthy for the system as a whole (competition and all - keeping everybody honest), and I want to support it. And the fact that I get an OS for free (or my choice of donation) is really, really nice too.